Richemont Sales Surge 10% in First Half

LONDON – Cartier parent Richemont reported sales grew 10 percent at constant exchange to 10.62 billion euros in the first half despite a raft of challenges ranging from gold prices to geopolitical events.

At reported exchange, sales were up 5 percent in the six months to Sept. 30, while the second quarter was a standout at the group, home to brands including Van Cleef & Arpels, IWC, Alaïa and Chloé.

In the three-month period, all regions delivered double-digit growth at constant exchange due to “sustained local demand” and despite a series of price tweaks aimed at mitigating the impact of higher gold prices, and U.S. tariffs.

In China, Hong Kong and Macau, sales “stabilized” in the first half, and rose 7 percent in the second quarter at constant exchange rates, with sales of fine jewelry driving growth. Watch sales also showed improvement, declining at a slower rate than in the previous period.

Sales at the jewelry maisons were up 9 percent to 7.75 billion euros at reported exchange and 14 percent at constant rates. At the specialist watchmakers, sales were down 6 percent. At constant exchange rates, the division saw 3 percent growth in the second quarter, driven by sequential improvement across all geographic regions.

Operating profit rose 7 percent to 2.4 billion euros, while profit for the period surged to 1.81 billion euros from 457 million, due to the non-recurrence of the 1.2 billion euros non-cash write-down from discontinued operations linked to the sale of Yoox Net-a-porter group to Mytheresa parent LuxExperience.

The company’s founder and chairman Johann Rupert described the six-month performance as “remarkable” and said that over the past months the group has been “stress-tested by an unprecedented combination of external macroeconomic headwinds,” including currency fluctuations, soaring gold prices and the impact of U.S. duties, especially on Swiss-made watches.